When is the best time to take iron supplements

Iron is an essential element in our lives. If you are deficient in iron, you will have symptoms such as pale complexion and physical fatigue, which will have a great impact on your daily work and life. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement iron in time. There are many ways to supplement iron. You can supplement iron through food or by taking iron supplements orally. So when is the best time to take iron supplements? The following specifically introduces when is the best time to take iron supplements.

Best time to take iron supplements

It is best not to take iron supplements on an empty stomach, so it is best to take iron supplements between meals to reduce irritation to the stomach and intestines. However, it is possible to be on an empty stomach between meals, so it is best to take the medicine half an hour after a meal. At this time, you generally will not have a strong feeling of fullness, and the food in the stomach has not been completely digested. This can ensure that the gastric mucosa is not irritated and is conducive to absorption.

The following are some precautions for taking oral iron supplements:

1. Principles of iron supplementation

Iron is a trace element and should be supplemented in trace amounts according to the principle. It should be started with a small dose. It is not advisable to supplement with iron supplements that have too high an iron content. This type of nutritional supplement may seem to have a high content, but in fact the body's absorption is limited. Excessive supplementation will cause absorption obstacles, resulting in half the result with twice the effort, and may even cause an absorption burden, which will not be worth the effort.

2. How to take iron supplements orally?

When taking iron supplements orally, you should place the medicine on the surface of the tongue and drink it directly down with water. Do not chew the medicine because the iron element will react and easily cause black teeth, affecting the appearance. I don’t know if it’s the iron supplement, but many liquid iron supplements are like this, which can easily lead to black teeth.

3. How long should I take iron supplements?

There are two types of iron in the human body, one is mobile iron and the other is storage iron. Generally, the occurrence of iron deficiency anemia proves that the storage iron is insufficient. If you want to supplement iron, you must consider both mobile iron and storage iron. Taking iron supplements, such as Tiezhiyuan tablets, will generally significantly increase hemoglobin in one month and can cure anemia. However, in order to consolidate the effect and prevent anemia from recurring, it is best to take supplements for 2-3 months, which will achieve the best effect.

4. Who are the people who are not suitable for iron supplements?

Patients with alcohol poisoning, hepatitis, acute infectious enteritis, and pancreatitis should be cautious when taking iron supplements during attacks; people with gastric and duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis, siderophore deposition disease and those without iron deficiency, those with severe liver and kidney damage, and those who are allergic to iron should not take iron supplements.

5. What should not be taken with iron supplements?

Iron supplements should not be taken together with calcium tablets, coffee, milk, tea, red wine, sodium bicarbonate beverages, Chinese patent medicines containing realgar, or antibiotics such as tetracycline and chloramphenicol, otherwise it will affect the absorption of iron.

6. What combination of iron supplements can achieve better results?

Iron supplements and vitamin C are a perfect match. VC can promote the absorption of iron. It is recommended that you take iron supplements with orange juice, or eat more foods rich in VC after taking iron supplements, such as tomatoes, pineapples, strawberries, oranges, etc.

How to take iron supplements for babies?

First, the choice of iron supplements for infants. Traditional iron supplements are mainly composed of divalent iron salts, commonly used ones are ferrous sulfate, ferrous lactate, etc., which have great side effects. However, today's infant iron supplements include iron supplements with heme iron as the main ingredient, supplemented with traditional Chinese medicine such as astragalus. They can not only increase the absorption rate of iron, but also promote the body's hematopoietic function, and have relatively few side effects.

Second, try to minimize the side effects of iron supplements when taking them. Common side effects of iron supplements include stomach discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., especially in the first few days of taking the medicine. Many parents reduce the dosage of iron supplements or even stop taking the medication because they feel sorry for their children, thus interrupting the treatment. Of course, each child has a different tolerance to iron supplements and the severity of side effects may vary. To reduce the side effects of iron supplements, you can change the way and frequency of taking the medicine.

Third, taking iron supplements before meals often causes greater gastrointestinal reactions, so you can take the iron supplements after meals instead. If the side effects are still severe, you can take it with milk, juice or other food. Generally, babies under 1 year old have less gastrointestinal reactions. You can try giving the full day's dose once half an hour before breakfast to increase iron absorption.